NEI2026 – European Researchers' Night

DINÂMIA'CET-Iscte will be at NEI2026 – European Researchers' Night with the activity “What Is Prison For? Abolition for a World Without Prisons!”, organized by researchers Joana Pestana Lages, Vera Silva and Ricardo Loureiro.

The activity starts with the question “What is prison for?” and challenges each participant to consider whether the purposes they attribute to prison could be achieved in other ways. From there, it introduces abolitionist thought, asking what we need to build so that prison is no longer our response.

By engaging the public in imagining new possibilities, the activity contributes to a more just society and more equitable social relations. It seeks to promote social inclusion by questioning punitive models of justice and encouraging reflection on possible alternatives.

This activity is part of the 'Housing Freedom: A Future Away from Incarceration' project, financed by the ERC StG Grant – GA 101219668, which explores the idea of home as a tool for freedom.